F e d e r a l D e p o s i t o r y L i b r a r y P r o g r a m ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program October 15, 2001 Vol. 22, no. 15 -------------------------------------------------------------------- LIBRARY PROGRAMS SERVICE FY 2001 ANNUAL REPORT Within the U.S. Government Printing Office, the Library Programs Service (LPS) is charged with the administration of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the Cataloging and Indexing Program, and the distribution component of the International Exchange Program of the Library of Congress. These programs are accomplished through the basic functions of LPS: o Acquisition, classification, and bibliographic control of U.S. Government publications in all formats o Distribution and format conversion of tangible U.S. Government publications o Assuring permanent public access to all publications in FDLP collections, with particular attention to the current and ongoing accessibility of electronic U.S. Government publications o Inspection of depository libraries for compliance with statutory requirements o Providing continuing education and training initiatives that strengthen the ability of depository library personnel to serve the public Summary The transition to a more electronic FDLP, begun in 1996, is continuing, as required by Congress and consistent with the trends in Government publishing. In FY 2001, LPS began moving ahead of the publishing agencies in terms of reliance upon online information. No longer passively proceeding "in tandem" with agency publishing decisions, LPS is frequently selecting only the electronic version of Government publications for FDLP even when the originating agency may still be publishing in a tangible format. This process has contributed to an increasingly complex workload for LPS staff. LPS' cataloging and locator services have emerged as a critical element in the FDLP's provision of current public access to U.S. Government publications. Long recognized as the national authority for cataloging Government publications, LPS is also gaining recognition as a center of excellence in other aspects of managing an electronic collection for permanent public access. In FY 2001, about 60% of the titles in the FDLP were available online. This ongoing change is reflected in changes in the LPS organization. While the areas of LPS that are associated with processing tangible publications are either static or shrinking in size, additional resources are required for the discovery, classification, cataloging, and archiving of electronic publications. Staffing and automated systems resources continue to be issues for LPS. Loss of experienced personnel and managers has occurred at an unprecedented rate this year, with the worst losses occurring in the Cataloging Branch and the Depository Distribution Division. Filling these vacancies will take considerable time, and the new staff will not be completely on board and assimilated into the workflow until well into FY 2002. LPS has begun the process of acquiring an up-to-date library cataloging and data management system, typically referred to as an integrated library system (ILS). Such a system would enhance LPS' ability to perform the statutorily authorized functions of the Cataloging and Indexing Program and the FDLP. LPS Highlights for 2001 o FDLP publication distribution increasingly electronic o Policy guidance for acquiring online publications o Significant personnel turnover o Expanded role of cataloging staff o New directions for partnerships o ILS acquisitions planning process o State plans revision initiative o Web Document Digital Archive project with OCLC FDLP Publication Dissemination The FDLP has become a primarily electronic program. Under policies articulated early this year, Government publications are furnished to Federal depository libraries solely in online electronic format unless certain criteria or circumstances exist. As a result, there is now a higher proportion of online-only titles in the FDLP than ever before. Many format changes begun in FY 2000 are now in effect. LPS previously established the requirements for depository copies for many publications that are printed under GPO term contracts beginning in FY 2001. Last year, LPS checked each term contract to see if that title or set of publications was available online. If so, and it did not fall into one of the exception categories, LPS changed the depository dissemination to electronic only. LPS reviewed about 700 annual term contracts and changed about 25% of them to solely electronic dissemination. The results of these decisions, coupled with the program funding reductions, are showing up in FY 2001, with nearly a 29% reduction in the number of FDLP paper titles. There has also been an even sharper reduction in the number of microfiche titles, due in large measure to the cessation of the Congressional bills in microfiche at the end of the 106th Congress. By the end of July, 18,387 additional online titles were made available via GPO Access. Overall, 59% of the titles disseminated this year were online, compared to 53% in FY 2000. The following chart shows the distribution of publications in the FDLP in FY 1999, 2000, and 2001: Media FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001* Titles Titles Titles Online (GPO Access) 17,885 11,715 15,755 Online (other agency sites) 14,166 20,951 5,480 Paper (includes USGS maps) 13,103 13,660 9,650 Microfiche 25,740 14,572 4,867 CD-ROM, DVD 682 617 491 Total 71,576 61,515 36,063 * Projection based on data through August The downturn in the number of new links to online publications at other agency sites is caused primarily by a reduction in the new additions to the Dept. of Energy partnership sites, particularly the DOE Information Bridge (http://www.osti.gov/bridge/). Despite significant staffing losses in the Cataloging Branch, LPS operations to identify, catalog, and link to external resources have continued at a steady pace. Policy Guidance Developed In January 2001, the Superintendent of Documents (SOD) issued policy guidance (produced with library community input) to assist GPO staff in determining which publications should be disseminated solely online. SOD 71, the "Dissemination/Distribution Policy for the FDLP" and the related list of "Essential Titles for Public Use in Paper Format" are important working documents for LPS staff to use in acquiring publications for the FDLP, and making possible more consistent decisions. SOD 71 and the "Essential Titles" list are available on the FDLP Desktop. Personnel and Staffing FY 2001 saw unprecedented personnel turnover in LPS. Within a one-year span, LPS has lost four staff to the Library of Congress, two to the Defense Technical Information Center, and one each to the Internal Revenue Service and the National Library of Education. This attrition is exclusive of retirements and other causes. The impact of this out-migration has been particularly marked among the library inspectors, catalogers, and the Depository Distribution Division. Vicki Barber, formerly Chief of the Depository Distribution Division, recently left LPS for a promotion to Chief of the Documents Technical Support Group. LPS is in the process of recruiting to fill this key position. Colleen Davis, an LPS veteran who had been acting as Chief of the Depository Distribution Division, retired in July. William Teele, Chief of the Depository Receiving Section, retired in September. Filling these positions is a priority for LPS. Bonnie Trivizas returned to LPS as Chief of the Library Division. Bonnie, who previously served in LPS from 1986-92, has management responsibility for the Cataloging Branch (CB), the Depository Administration Branch (DAB), and the Depository Services Staff (DSS). DSS' library inspection team shrunk to only one library inspector for part of the year. Two additional inspectors were selected in August. One of the candidates is from a depository library and one is from the LPS cataloging staff. Thomas A. Downing, Chief of the Cataloging Branch, was the acting Chief, DAB from January through July, in addition to continuing as Chief of the Cataloging Branch. In July, LPS selected Betty M. Jones, previously Chief of Cataloging Section 2, to become the Chief, DAB. Having lost 5 catalogers during the year, LPS is now recruiting catalogers using an "open-until-filled" announcement to fill these positions on an ongoing "flow" basis, rather than by reacting to individual vacancies. LPS has investigated a variety of retention strategies, including upgrading the cataloging positions. However, GPO's Position Management Branch has advised LPS managers that these positions are correctly graded at the PG-11 level. In summary, as of mid-September there were 20 recruitment actions underway in LPS, and of these five selections have been made, including two catalogers and two library inspectors. Additionally, one new program analyst came on board in August through the Outstanding Scholar hiring program. Coupled with the high number of staff in new positions, this personnel turnover has impacted LPS' production operations and other activities. Cataloging Developments The Cataloging and Indexing Program managed by LPS has an important role in providing access to online resources through bibliographic control. LPS has expanded its cataloging and locator services efforts, and moved beyond the traditional Monthly Catalog as its principal output. As a center of excellence for Government publications cataloging, the role of the LPS cataloging staff is expanding to encompass a broader range of decisions regarding online resources. Bringing new employees into dynamic online cataloging environments is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is in trying to work as productively as possible while continually recruiting and training staff. The opportunity in training newly hired catalogers is to integrate cataloging with the complete range of LPS technical services. In addition to their traditional functions, as new catalogers are hired they are being trained to: o Determine if online resources fall within the scope of the Electronic Collection o Evaluate online resources and their association (if any) with physical forms of the same title o Classify online resources and assign item numbers to them o Catalog online resources (as well as physical forms) o Determine the appropriate pages for initial access via bibliographic records o Assign PURLs to bibliographic records o Communicate with agency webmasters, as necessary, to restore broken links and to encourage them to provide permanent public access via user and cataloger friendly web pages These duties create a stimulating work environment and contribute to efforts to identify, describe, and provide permanent public access to both online and physical resources. Partnerships There have been recent changes in the partner relationships between libraries and GPO. Increasingly, LPS is asking its library partners to act as the administrators of partnerships, in addition to implementing them or organizing the volunteers. Some recent examples include the University of Central Oklahoma taking on the administration of the Browse Topics service, and the University of North Dakota assuming responsibility for the Needs & Offers list project, both of which originated as GPO-managed services. These and other partnerships are very well served by being managed by librarians in the FDLP community. State Plans Initiative In August the Superintendent of Documents asked the directors of the depository libraries for their support and assistance in revising the state plans for the delivery of FDLP services. Some 20 years ago, many depositories and state library agencies worked together to develop state plans for the delivery of depository services within their states or service areas. Since then, much has changed in the FDLP and in the way libraries receive and deliver information in general. From GPO's perspective, the time for state plans has come again. Among the benefits of the state plan process is the opportunity to strengthen the relationship among all of the depositories in a state or service area, to coordinate with other library and information planning initiatives, and ultimately to provide improved, cost-effective library services to the citizens. Federal Depository Libraries The number of depository libraries continues to decline, with several libraries leaving the system with no advance notification to LPS that relinquishing status was under consideration. LPS is developing various approaches to address this issue. Both library inspections and the review of self-studies proceeded at less than optimal rates due to the severe staffing limitations on the inspection team. FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001* FDLP libraries 1,347 1,328 1,313 New depository designations 3 1 2 Libraries leaving the FDLP 16 20 17 Libraries placed on probation 5 11 1 Inspections 100 120 36 Self-studies evaluated 252 145 87 *Actual data through August Web Document Digital Archive Pilot Project LPS and OCLC, Inc. are testing an initial release of a system to locate, identify, process, describe, catalog, and archive electronic publications. The Web Document Digital Archive Pilot Project has recently been expanded to include several other partners, including the State Library of Connecticut and the State Library of Ohio. The proposed system will incorporate a mix of new and existing solutions in an effort to refine and integrate LPS workflow and routines for processing and storing e-titles for the long term. GPO is a full partner in this project, and staff has worked closely with OCLC, providing input in the development process. The initial application of the project is based on the CORC interface. Archiving functionality will be added in a subsequent development phase beginning in early 2002. In September ten LPS staff received intensive hands-on training in the CORC interface, paving the way for LPS' participation in phase one of the project. LPS' own archive of electronic publications continues to evolve and grow. The highest priority candidates for this "in-house" solution remain agency publications that are primarily textual or images of text, and which have no tangible counterpart in the FDLP. Information about the operation of the FDLP/EC Archive can be found at . Systems Modernization LPS is in the process of acquiring an up-to-date library cataloging and data management system that will enhance LPS' ability to perform the statutorily authorized functions of the Cataloging and Indexing Program and the FDLP. In the marketplace such a system is typically referred to as an integrated library system (ILS). The transition to a more electronic FDLP has given GPO and LPS a distributed library collection of electronic resources to manage and maintain. To meet these requirements, mandated by 44 U.S.C. Chapter 41, LPS needs an improved cataloging and library data management system. Currently LPS is operating through a patchwork of legacy mainframe systems, stand-alone desktop applications and Web-based service applications that do not share data and are not interoperable. LPS' efforts to integrate our technical services operations and to manage and improve public access to electronic resources should improve with the acquisition of an ILS. A cataloging and library data management system using state of the art technologies must be acquired to meet the demands of the changing Government information environment. As a result of the initial analysis performed, LPS' efforts are focused on purchasing Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) cataloging and library management software from the GSA Schedule, provided it meets our system requirements. Significant costs and time associated with a full competitive procurement will be saved with this approach. LPS expects to adjust internal workflow procedures, as necessary, to mesh with the new system, minimizing modifications to the standard software. LPS Outreach In addition to the usual appearances at American Library Association conferences and Depository Library Council meetings, LPS staff presented papers and made presentations on various aspects of the FDLP and the Cataloging and Indexing Program in a variety of venues. In November 2000, Thomas A. Downing, Chief, Cataloging Branch, contributed to LC's "Bicentennial Conference on Bibliographic Control for the New Millennium: Confronting the Challenges of Networked Resources and the Web." His paper, entitled "An Initial Survey and Description of How Selected United States Government Libraries, Information Centers, and Information Services Provide Public Access to Information via the Internet" was published by LC. The paper appears as part of the "Proceedings of the Bicentennial Conference on Bibliographic Control for the New Millennium" and is accessible at . At the Preservation 2000 Conference, York, England, December 2000, George Barnum presented "The FDLP Electronic Collection: Preserving a Tradition of Access to United States Government Information." Barnum also updated the Federal Library and Information Center Committee 2001 Information Technology Update at LC on "The GPO-OCLC Digital Archiving Pilot Project," and presented "SuDocs 101: Where did SuDocs Classification come from and what's it for?" at the May 2001 Interagency Depository Seminar. In Athens, Georgia, in May 2001, Gil Baldwin met with the directors of depository libraries and the Georgia documents librarians. He made two presentations and participated in Georgia's state plan discussions. In September, he was scheduled to appear before the depository librarians of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire to discuss the future of the FDLP. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, led to the postponement of this program until October 30.